Tag: Myths

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

The Goblin Twins (Try to) Take New York!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Goblin Twins: Too Hard to Scare, by Frances Cha/Illustrated by Jaime Kim, (Sept. 2024, Crown Books for Young Readers), $19.99, ISBN: 9780593480267

Ages 3-7

Doki and Kebi, two 601-year-old Korean goblin twins, are living in New York. Doki is happy to read the books in his new library, but Kebi is lonely. Attempts to make new friends aren’t working out, and New Yorkers aren’t very easy to rattle! Doki tries to give him a hand, but as readers will learn, it takes a lot – maybe even more than a shrinking Statue of Liberty – to make a New Yorker do a double-take. Readers living in Metro New York will get big laughs out of this – I sure did! – and folks outside of New York will get a hearty laugh at all the ways the twins try to shake things up: make the trains run late? Pfft – that’s just expected. Fill the streets with smoke? It would be weirder if the streets were clear, depending on where you’re walking! Make tables float in the air? People will just grumble that they can’t find a seat. It’s a fun play on people’s perspectives on New York, and Kim’s digital illustration is bright, colorful, and beautifully captures New York landmarks (and yes, I’m including traffic as a landmark). The story’s touching plot about finding someone who always has your back shines through the laughter. A fun read-aloud and a fun New York story that’s good for any time of year. The Goblin Twins: Too Hard to Scare is the follow-up to 2022’s The Goblin Twins.

If your kids are asking for more information on dokkaebi, you can find more information about them at Mythology Planet. Download a free curriculum guide at Frances Cha’s website.

“An amusing tale of sibling love and mischief.” —Kirkus Reviews
Frances Cha often wonders what it would take to scare a New Yorker, and also wishes she could finish reading all the books in a library! The dokkaebi who used to eat socks in her laundry basket now delights in hiding her keys whenever she needs them. Her novel (for grown-ups) If I Had Your Face was named a best book of the year by NPR, USA Today, and Time. She teaches creative writing at Columbia University and divides her time between New York and South Korea. To learn more, and to download a free curriculum guide, visit francescha.com.
Jaime Kim has illustrated many books for young readers, including La La La: A Story of Hope by Kate DiCamillo and Ready for the Spotlight! which was her debut as an author and illustrator. Her illustrated book Take Heart, My Child was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Like her character Doki, Jaime once preferred staying at home and creating art over exploring the wider world. But now she loves traveling, discovering new places, and connecting with new people. Also like Doki and Kebi, she was born and raised in South Korea and now lives in the United States. For more information, visit jaimekim.com.

Posted in Preschool Reads

The Tooth Fairy’s Origins, Revealed!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Untold Story of the Tooth Fairy, by José Carlos Andrés/Illustrated by Betania Zacarias, (May 2018, nubeOCHO), $16.95, ISBN: 978-84-944446-1-6

Recommended for readers 3-8

Related as a folktale, this take on the Tooth Fairy’s origins makes things more of a team effort. It all starts underwater, when Lady Oyster – depicted as a fabulous, brown-skinned diva – loses her pearl. She’s very, she means very, so very sad! Word goes out among Lady Oyster’s underwater friends: octopus tells French sardine; the sardine tells a crab, who relates the story to a mouse on land, who comes up with a solution that works for everyone.

Based on the French, Spanish, and South American version of the Tooth Fairy myth, where a small mouse – not a fairy – takes a newly dispatched tooth and leaves a gift, kids will love this original take on the tooth fairy – especially kids in the 5-8 age category who are getting visits from the Tooth Fairy. I love the idea of the Tooth Fairy’s assistants helping her, too – it makes sense! It sends a nice message about teamwork, too.

Betania Zacarias’ paint and cut-paper collage artwork is beautiful. I love her gorgeous, over the top Lady Oyster; she’s a diva of color, she’s got curves, and she’s dramatic! The texture of the artwork is beautiful, and her color choices are bright, most primary colors, and eye-catching. This is a story I could read to the kids in my Queens Library storytimes and have the kids say, “I see myself here.” The bright orange endpapers are filled with fish of all different colors, giving kids an idea of where this story is going to start.

This is a wonderful book to read to kids getting ready to – or in the process of – get visits from the Tooth Fairy. Originally published in Spanish (2016), the book is available in both Spanish and English. Add The Tooth Fairy Meets Ratón Perez by Rene Colato Lainez for a fun multicultural tooth fairy storytime or display, and Susan Hood’s The Tooth Mouse for a French take on the little mouse’s side of the story.

Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Humor, Intermediate

Noodleheads See the Future… Is there cake?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Noodleheads See the Future, by Tedd Arnold, Martha Hamilton, & Mitch Weiss/Illustrated by Tedd Arnold, (Jan. 2017, Holiday House), $15.95, ISBN: 9780823436736

Recommended for readers 6-10

Noodlehead brothers Mac and Mac return for a second round of goofy fun in Noodleheads See the Future. The empty-headed brothers (no, really, they’ll show you their hollow pasta heads) are a bit gullible, which leaves them open to pranks by their cousin, Meatball. The Noodleheads head to the woods to get firewood for their mother so she can bake them a cake; where Meatball tricks them and steals their firewood. The joke’s on Meatball, though; the Noodleheads still manage to get the job done for Mom, who bakes them a cake!

Think of the Noodleheads as a first step toward Amelia Bedelia. The brothers take everything literally, like looking up when being told, “heads up”. This is a fun graphic novel to give to emerging independent readers; the text is brief and bold, the panels show events in sequence, and the three chapters are short enough to keep a reader’s attention. Plus, the illustrator and one of the authors is Tedd Arnold, whose Fly Guy series is an Easy Reader favorite. An explanation of the myths inspiring the stories told in Noodleheads of the Future will interest kids and grownups.

This is the second Noodleheads book. The first, Noodlehead Nightmares, was released in 2016. The series is a Guided Reading level L, according to the publisher’s website, and received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus.